Line 6 Helix

gibsongretschfan

How are we all liking the KOT and Zendrive?

The KOT is filling a nice hole for me as I run a BB Preamp alongside Helix. Always found the BB and KOT much of a muchness and very glad to have it here. The KOT can also double up on low gain duties where the BB isn't as good and I would usually have a ODR-1

The Zendrive.... I haven't tried it into a real amp yet and I haven't (and won't) A/B it and although I do think it's missing some chewiness I found myself happily playing away in the area where I would usually use my Zen and even if I'm not sure yet it's absolutely bang on accurate at reacrating every nuance of the original, the Helix Zendrive is a pretty good lead overdrive in itself

Think I'm going to get a lot of use out of these two as I haven't been fond of the drive pedals modelled already (not fond of the pedals not necessarily the model) and these two are right up my street

maybe an RC, SL and ODR-1 next pretty please?

tekbow

WiresDreamDisasters said:

PolarityMan said:

Speaking of loops.....I got a mother fucker of a ground loop with the helix yesterday at band practice.

I have a prototype patch that has all my effects split out into a common path then has a split going into an amp sim and IR out to send 1 while the main outputs by pass the amp / IR and go straight to my amp, the goal being that if I do this to all my patches then I have built in backup for if my amp goes down.

So to check the sound I wired the send into the PA so I was getting the cab+IR in my monitors instead of the mic signal. 

PA and helix connected via wall plug 1

Amp connected via wall plug 2 on the other side of the room

if the send from the helix was plugged into the PA at all I got horrendous hum / buzz comign out of the amp so I assume there must be a ground loop due to using 2 different wall sockets?

I guess the best way to solve this is to run everything off a single socket but is it worth having a DI box or something similar that can ground lift in case I dont have that luxury live at any point?

Get an Orchid Electronics Isolator box.

This. I had a bastard of a ground loop running from my line out into my brigadier. Orchid was recommended, all is now quiet.

WiresDreamDisasters

tekbow said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

PolarityMan said:

Speaking of loops.....I got a mother fucker of a ground loop with the helix yesterday at band practice.

I have a prototype patch that has all my effects split out into a common path then has a split going into an amp sim and IR out to send 1 while the main outputs by pass the amp / IR and go straight to my amp, the goal being that if I do this to all my patches then I have built in backup for if my amp goes down.

So to check the sound I wired the send into the PA so I was getting the cab+IR in my monitors instead of the mic signal. 

PA and helix connected via wall plug 1

Amp connected via wall plug 2 on the other side of the room

if the send from the helix was plugged into the PA at all I got horrendous hum / buzz comign out of the amp so I assume there must be a ground loop due to using 2 different wall sockets?

I guess the best way to solve this is to run everything off a single socket but is it worth having a DI box or something similar that can ground lift in case I dont have that luxury live at any point?

Get an Orchid Electronics Isolator box.

This. I had a bastard of a ground loop running from my line out into my brigadier. Orchid was recommended, all is now quiet.

Was probably me who recommended it! I'm a huge fanboi. Got two of the Isolator's and one of their regular DI boxes too. They're great. I use them all the time when recording.

PolarityMan

Do you put them on the connection causing the problem (helix to PA) or where you are getting the noise (I assume helix -> amp) or does it not matter?

Jota

gibsongretschfan said:

How are we all liking the KOT and Zendrive?

The KOT is filling a nice hole for me as I run a BB Preamp alongside Helix. Always found the BB and KOT much of a muchness and very glad to have it here. The KOT can also double up on low gain duties where the BB isn't as good and I would usually have a ODR-1

The Zendrive.... I haven't tried it into a real amp yet and I haven't (and won't) A/B it and although I do think it's missing some chewiness I found myself happily playing away in the area where I would usually use my Zen and even if I'm not sure yet it's absolutely bang on accurate at reacrating every nuance of the original, the Helix Zendrive is a pretty good lead overdrive in itself

Think I'm going to get a lot of use out of these two as I haven't been fond of the drive pedals modelled already (not fond of the pedals not necessarily the model) and these two are right up my street

maybe an RC, SL and ODR-1 next pretty please?

I have a KoT clone on my board and the one on the Stomp sounds familiar.

Can't see it being replaced as like the ability to have it always available without taking up blocks and my yellow channel is slightly tweaked but it's a nice feature and a great sounding drive.

I tried the Zen and liked it very much! It's the kind of sound I usually only like to hear others using but I can see myself using this one.

WiresDreamDisasters

PolarityMan said:

Do you put them on the connection causing the problem (helix to PA) or where you are getting the noise (I assume helix -> amp) or does it not matter?

I put mine in between the output of the Helix and the guitar amp. But the other way could work too.

John_A

paulphoenix

i like it @John_A ; - but still only 6 blocks though?...if you're gonna dream, you've gotta dream big! 

John_A

paulphoenix said:

i like it @John_A ;; - but still only 6 blocks though?...if you're gonna dream, you've gotta dream big! 

6 is enough for me, it's just the lack of footswitches without going down the MC6 route, wish they'd make one like the above

smudge_lad

Teetonetal said:

fretmeister said:

TimmyO said:

fretmeister said:

Anyone got any weirdness with the vintage digital delay?

I get nasty noise on the repeats, but not on any other model.

I read someone else mention it - advice was to check headroom parameter which might have been affected in the update.

Although to ape the Facebook group my reply should be "follow the instructions - mines fine!" 

That was me!

Ive never used the global Settings. Never needed to.

Headroom is an effect level parameter. I had this same issue with the bubble vibe on one of the previous updates. Altering headroom solved it.

Just to re-iterate in case people may have missed this.....I had the same issue on the transistor tape delay the other day, and last night I increased the headroom parameter to max and it seems to have solved the noise issue. I didn't have a chance to crank the amp properly to hear it at proper volume, but sounded better at bedroom volumes.

I am still having trouble with the bypass assign through MIDI. It's only happening on one patch/block though. I'm using the Teemah overdrive and controlling the bypass with my Morningstar MC6. All other blocks in the same patch are still working with my MC6. The MC6 settings are exactly the same across all the blocks in the Stomp (apart from the MIDI CC number), and across all the footswitches on the MC6, so I think my programming is fine. 

I've also tried swapping the Teemah for another drive and still nothing. I've also tried changing the MIDI CC number to something else, and still doesn't work.

Anyone else having this issue?

@rossyamaha - anything you can suggest/have heard through the Line6 grapevine about similar issues?

paulphoenix

Collective wisdom/experience required please people: 

I have an outdoor festival gig tomorrow with supplied FOH and a dedicated sound man - yes i will feel like a proper rock star for an hour!  

But, having tweaked all my Helix patches to match/sound good through my PA (i.e hi/low cuts gain staging, EQ etc), will it make much of a  difference going through a larger desk and a higher powered system with more/larger speakers?

AKA will my patches sound like ass through a different PA? Or should I just take my pedal board and amp and let them mic it ? 

John_A

paulphoenix said:

Collective wisdom/experience required please people: 

I have an outdoor festival gig tomorrow with supplied FOH and a dedicated sound man - yes i will feel like a proper rock star for an hour!  

But, having tweaked all my Helix patches to match/sound good through my PA (i.e hi/low cuts gain staging, EQ etc), will it make much of a  difference going through a larger desk and a higher powered system with more/larger speakers?

AKA will my patches sound like ass through a different PA? Or should I just take my pedal board and amp and let them mic it ? 

Through a better PA with a decent sound guy you'll be fine, it'll sound great

Jota

paulphoenix said:

Collective wisdom/experience required please people: 

I have an outdoor festival gig tomorrow with supplied FOH and a dedicated sound man - yes i will feel like a proper rock star for an hour!  

But, having tweaked all my Helix patches to match/sound good through my PA (i.e hi/low cuts gain staging, EQ etc), will it make much of a  difference going through a larger desk and a higher powered system with more/larger speakers?

AKA will my patches sound like ass through a different PA? Or should I just take my pedal board and amp and let them mic it ? 

I made all my sounds through the headphones out with my IEM.

I have the fortune of working always with the same PA and the same soundguy.

He tweaked my sound for the FOH and I had some trouble with my IEM sound cause he cutted a lot of low end (and I'm a guy who loves bright tones and generally hates low end). I had to ask him to bring some low end to my IEM mix and all has been working great.

I believe he's gonna treat your sound like it was a real amp: he'll tweak it to get what he wants but, if it sounds good through your PA, I don't belive he'll have a hard time getting a good sound.

paulphoenix

Thanks for the reassurance @John_A , @Jota, ;

I want to use the HX due to set up/change over times - usual festival shenanigans. 

Should I forewarn the sound guy/gal (person?) that I'll be sending a line level signal through one of their mic XLR inputs or will they just realise and adjust accordingly at PFL? 

It's at the beach (I live in Cornwall) so I'm a bit worried about sand getting everywhere like it has done previously! eek

digitalscream

paulphoenix said:

Should I forewarn the sound guy/gal (person?) that I'll be sending a line level signal through one of their mic XLR inputs or will they just realise and adjust accordingly at PFL? 

At shows like that, you usually have to provide a tech rider - usually a stage plan indicating where you need mains power (and how many sockets you need), what cabs you're using, and where you need DIs and monitors (and a rough idea of the mix for each monitor).

I've found it's a good idea just to have one of those printed for each of my bands, and even if they haven't asked for it I'll hand it over when we arrive for load-in. It shortcuts a lot of discussions, and (if you've got a good sound tech) it'll mean a more consistent stage experience.

paulphoenix

digitalscream said:

paulphoenix said:

Should I forewarn the sound guy/gal (person?) that I'll be sending a line level signal through one of their mic XLR inputs or will they just realise and adjust accordingly at PFL? 

At shows like that, you usually have to provide a tech rider - usually a stage plan indicating where you need mains power (and how many sockets you need), what cabs you're using, and where you need DIs and monitors (and a rough idea of the mix for each monitor).

I've found it's a good idea just to have one of those printed for each of my bands, and even if they haven't asked for it I'll hand it over when we arrive for load-in. It shortcuts a lot of discussions, and (if you've got a good sound tech) it'll mean a more consistent stage experience.

They haven't asked for one this year - but good idea, I'll knock up a new version and take with me. Thanks for the suggestion.  

John_A

One thing to watch out for .  Helix scribble strips are awful to read in sunlight

robinbowes

John_A said:

One thing to watch out for .  Helix scribble strips are awful to read in sunlight

Related - don't wear polarising sunglasses. I did and was convinced my Helix Control was knackered, until I took off the shades.

R.

TimmyO

A lot of the received/internet wisdom you'll read re playing through different sound reinforcement or at significantly different levels is about sorting it out as well.as possible in advance because you either can't hear the FOH sound or if you can you aren't in a position to do anything about it.

If you've got a dedicated FOH engineer I'd worry less eg if your patches aren't perfectly balanced in level, he/she will turn you up or down. Let them do their thing 

shuikit

paulphoenix said:

Thanks for the reassurance @John_A , @Jota, ;

I want to use the HX due to set up/change over times - usual festival shenanigans. 

Should I forewarn the sound guy/gal (person?) that I'll be sending a line level signal through one of their mic XLR inputs or will they just realise and adjust accordingly at PFL? 

It's at the beach (I live in Cornwall) so I'm a bit worried about sand getting everywhere like it has done previously! eek

It shouldn't matter, but I would set the XLR outputs to mic level, from what I've been led to believe it is the norm.  Also, I would set the volume knob so that it doesn't affect the level of the XLR output.  Both are set in the global settings